HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth women’s lacrosse head coach Amy Patton announced Tuesday afternoon the addition of Tracy Coyne to the Big Green staff as the team’s top assistant for the upcoming 2014 season.

Coyne is the former head coach at Notre Dame, building the program into a national power in 15 seasons from 1996-2011. The highlight of her time in South Bend came in 2006 when she was named the NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year and led the Irish to the 2006 Final Four.

Since leaving Notre Dame following the 2011 campaign, Coyne has worked as a volunteer assistant coach at Duquesne (2012) and most recently as the head coach at Washington & Jefferson this past season.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Dartmouth women's lacrosse program. I have the utmost respect and admiration for the leadership Amy has demonstrated by producing a nationally competitive team every year,” Coyne said. “The opportunity to work on a daily basis with one of the best coaches in the game is very intriguing to me. It's the best of both worlds really — a nationally competitive team at a world-renowned academic institution. Thinking about the possibilities is very exciting.

“It is an honor to become a member of such a special community,” Coyne continued. “I am anxious to start working with Amy and the team as we pursue the 2014 Ivy League title and Ivy Tournament Championship.”

In addition to her 2006 national coaching honor, Coyne was the recipient of the 1990 NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year award while in just her first season at Roanoke College.

“I am incredibly excited to have Tracy join the Dartmouth lacrosse staff and family,” Patton said. “Tracy brings a wealth of experience, great integrity and a passion for the game of women's lacrosse. She will take on the lead role of recruiting coordinator and oversee the offensive end of the field.

“Tracy has a great mind for the game and where we are headed. She believes in our philosophy and values here at Dartmouth, and is excited to help our student-athletes achieve their goals,” Patton added.

The 2012 IWLCA Diane Geppi-Aikens Award recipient for lifetime achievement in the sport of lacrosse, Coyne has been one of the premier coaches of the last two decades.

Inheriting a club team upon her arrival in late summer 1996, Coyne built a varsity program at Notre Dame that would become a perennial power and ranked team, reaching as high as No. 2 during the 2004 season. The Irish would reach the NCCA Tournament six times in her final 10 seasons in South Bend, including a trip to the 2006 Final Four, where it was bested by Dartmouth in the national semifinals.

A three-time Big East Coach of the Year, Coyne recruited and developed 23 All-America players during her time at Notre Dame and three who earned ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.

Her 2009 squad captured the program’s first Big East Championship and would make a run to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, a round also reached by Coyne in 2002 and 2006.

A winner at every level of coaching, Coyne has led her teams to double-digit victories in 18 of her 24 seasons along the sidelines and boasts a 264-134 record (.663). Those 264 career victories rank ninth all-time among NCAA women’s lacrosse coaches all-time.

Coyne’s ability to recruit some of the nation’s premier players is one of her most recognized strengths as a coach. In 2006, Crysti Foote was tabbed as the IWLCA National Attacker Player of the Year. Foote would finish that year as a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, given to the nation’s top player annually. Coyne would also help develop Jillian Byers into a player who also was a Tewaaraton Finalist in 2009, in addition to seven players being named to the watch list since 2003.

Overall, three Notre Dame players earned Big East Attacker of the Year honors, while three others earned the league’s Midfielder of the Year accolade under Coyne’s guidance.

In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, Coyne was also the Canadian Women’s Lacrosse National Team Head Coach from 1999-2005. During her time coaching Canada, Coyne’s teams appeared in the medal round and earned fourth-place showings at both the 2001 and 2005 FIL World Cups.

Upon her appointment as Canada’s head coach in 1999, Coyne went about rebuilding the national team two years after it had been disbanded following the 1997 World Cup.

Prior to her time at Notre Dame, Coyne served in the same role at Roanoke for seven seasons, winning five conference championships, making five trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament and posting a 91-21 (.813) record. While there, she guided the Maroons to the 1990 and 1992 NCAA semifinals and earned conference Coach of the Year honors in 1990 and 1995 in addition to her national recognition in her first season.

Her first head coaching position came at Denison for the 1988 and 1989 campaigns. While leading the Big Red for two seasons, Coyne captured the first two conference titles of her career and appeared in one NCAA Tournament.

A 1983 graduate of Ohio University with a degree in organizational communications while lettering in lacrosse, Coyne also received a master’s degree in sports administration from St. Thomas University (Fla.) in 1985.

Career Accomplishments· 2006 NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year (Notre Dame)· 1990 NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year (Roanoke)· 2012 IWLCA Diane Geppi-Aikens Award for lifetime achievement in the sport of lacrosse· 2006 NCAA Division I Championship Final Four· 2009 & 2002 NCAA Division I Quarterfinalists· 2009 Big East Conference Champions· Three-time Big East Coach of the Year· Student-athletes earned 23 All-American honors at Notre Dame.· Student-athletes earned three ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and six all-district honors at Notre Dame· Career record of 264-134 with a .663 winning percentage in 25 seasons· 264 career wins rank ninth all-time among NCAA women's lacrosse coaches· 10-win seasons in 18 of 25 years as head coach